In data centers or enterprises, IT team members always provide more storage resources than their system needs. Usually, a cluster of spindles (Hard Disk Drive, HDD), all-flash-array (Solid-State Disk, SSD), or a hybrid of HDDs and SSDs dedicated to a workload, e.g. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), are prepared. Over-provisioning of the storages mentioned above is just for unpredictable peaks of performance or growth of users. Storages dedicated for one workload may cause a waste of large portion of unused storage capacity and money spent on the “imaginative” peak performance which may not happen. Therefore, enterprises or cloud service providers have difficulties in budget planning and choosing the right configuration for their storage system.
A solution for the above problem is provided in the U.S. Pat. No. 8,706,962. A method of configuring a multi-tiered storage system is disclosed. The storage system comprises a number of storage tiers and each of the storage tiers includes storage devices of a particular type of storage. Data access information for storage extents (a small portion of a storage volume) to be stored in the storage system is received. Resource information for available storage tiers in the storage system to place the storage extents on is also received. A cost incurred by the storage system for placing each of the storage extents on each of the storage tiers is determined. The cost is based on a consumption of storage resources for storing a storage extent in a storage tier and calculated using the data access and resource information. Each storage extent is assigned to a particular one of the storage tiers that would incur the lowest cost to the storage system for storing the storage extent. For each storage tier, a minimum number of storage devices are selected, within the assigned storage tier. That would satisfy data access and capacity requirements for all storage extents assigned to that tier.
The method of '962 is to find out a minimum cost if one storage extent is stored. Under the cost, a combination of storage devices is selected for used. It is an economic way to utilize available storages. However, it doesn't mean that a storage system run by the method can save the most money. Fluctuation of use of the storage system in the future is unpredicted. Purchase of storages is till conservative such that a large unnecessary portions of storages will still be reserved.
Hence, a method or a system for optimizing storage configuration for future is desired. Preferably, the method or a system may provide a plan to allocate just-enough resources of storage in a period of time in the future. Once current storage infrastructure could not satisfy requirements in the period of time in the future, warning message can be provided to the IT team members and a recommended plan for new storage procurement can be available as well.